Food for Thought…Asian, Western – Sweets/Desserts and Savoury

Dumplings (Jiao Zhi/Gao Ji)

On a cold winter’s night, these dumplings are really good. They are normally served hot, either steamed or boiled. In addition, they could be frozen up till 4 weeks, making it a ready-made meal whenever you want something quick. It looks small and some people might not feel it would be filling enough, but trust me 10-15 peices should be enough to feed an average size person.

Ingredients:

Dumpling skin (jiao zhi pi)

Mince pork

Mince chicken

Spring onions

Garlic

Prawns, optional

Water chestnut

Soy sauce

Sugar, pepper, salt

Oyster sauce

Sesame oil

Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing jiu)

Dipping sauce: Dark vinegar, soy sauce and pepper – mixed together

Method:

Mix 1/2 and 1/2 mice pork and mince chicken together in a big bowl. Minced prawns and garlic. Chopped spring onions and water chestnuts. Mix all together with pork and chicken mixture. Add seasoning and set aside for at least an hour. If dumpling skins are still a bit frozen, bring a pot of water to boil and just place the packet of skin above the steam for a while. When skin is pliable, remove from heat.

Place a teaspoonful in each skin and pleat along the sides.

Depending on your preference, you can either steam or boil the dumplings in water.

Steam: Bring a wok of water to boil, place bamboo steamer on wok. Arrange dumplings on steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes.

Boil: Bring a pot of water to boil. You can use chicken stock etc if you want to serve it with soup. Add dumplings, a few at a time and bring to boil. When dumplings float to the surface, allow it to boil for a further 1-2 minutes, then remove. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

About Me…

I'm just a simple girl who used to live in a small, scenic town - Hobart, Tasmania. Now, I'm a small little girl, stuck in the big and confusing city - Sydney! So, if you are in Sydney or have family and friends here who are looking to order specialty cakes/desserts or wanting to cater for an event or need someone to do all the running around and planning for an upcoming event, please feel free to email me at pearlyn83@gmail.com.